Welcome to another edition of Cheap Pop and Cheap Heat from Smark Out Moment! Each week, we break down the world of professional wrestling and examine two of the polar opposite ends of the spectrum: one thing that was by far the worst thing (Cheap Heat) and the best thing (Cheap Pop) to happen over the past 7 days in sports entertainment. So, what went down this week that we loved and hated about the business?

CHEAP POP OF THE WEEK:

SPEAKING UP

A couple weeks ago, I was talking about the downwards trajectory of Sami Zayn. Despite a strong start for his fan hating gimmick, he quickly fell by the wayside after becoming an habitual match loser. His promo skills remained on point, but he became a spiritual successor to old Bray Wyatt i.e. nothing he said was ever backed up, and he soon became no threat whatsoever. So, what to do with him?

Thankfully, WWE appears to be trying to remedy this with an approach that may just kill two birds with one stone. Making him the manager of Shinsuke Nakamura may not take advantage of his significant in-ring talent, but, as The Miz found out, he can now effortlessly back up any trash talking by setting Shinsuke on anyone that rubs him the wrong way.

In addition, the idea of an advocate for Shinsuke has been floated around for a while now, and I do not think we have anything to lose by giving this a shot. Shinsuke as the Intercontinental Champion has been, thus far, a little uneventful, but this could all change with this pairing. Shinsuke can bring the fight and raise the match tempo, and Sami can bookend the presentations with the setups and bragging.

I mean, let us not forget, stranger pairs have proposed.

CHEAP HEAT OF THE WEEK:O.C (OH CRAP)

Having Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman win the Raw tag team titles was an exciting way to end Monday Night Raw, but was it the right thing to do long-term?

Firstly, let us not pretend otherwise, this is not a dawning of a new Hardy Boys, Dudley Boyz, or Edge and Christian. Every couple of years, WWE likes to do the World champion wins tag titles with a rival, and then plays the how will they ever got along narrative.

We have seen it with Steve Austin/Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin/The Undertaker, and John Cena/Everyone he has ever won a tag title with. This was undoubtedly done to set up a turn and then feud for the Universal title, but should it have come at The O.C’s expense?

WWE is not faction heavy right now, and having the O.C run riot around the mid-card and tag scene for an extended period of time would have done wonders for all members involved. Now, with only AJ Styles holding a title, they no longer collectively feel quite as special. The Good Brothers are a world famous tag-team, but the fact that they can be bested by a first time team does not do wonders for their stock, or, indeed, the tag belts. After all, right now they are a mere catalyst for a feud in a different division entirely.

Thankfully, these pairings are never long for this world, and maybe Gallows and Anderson can be the ones to regain the titles and get back on track, but you cannot but help feel sorry that this is how they get treated mere weeks after signing a new five-year deal.

So there you have it, my two choices for the week. What do YOU think are the Cheap Pop and Cheap Heat this week in professional wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Ross K Foad is a writer, actor, YouTuber and founder of the Sherlock Holmes website No Place Like Holmes. He has been a published writer since age 13 with a comic strip in a regional newspaper and a wrestling fan since the Rock 'n' Wrestling era. You can follow him on Twitter

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